Brilliancy
by MonkeyDeeLuffy
Summary: AU. Chess is one of Remnant's most prized and honored sports. Millions of people across Remnant play the game avidly, and because of its fame, it gave rise to the four academies of chess: Haven, Shade, Atlas, and last but not least, Beacon. Jaune Arc loves chess more than anything in the world…..but….unfortunately…..
1. Chapter 1

Brilliancy

* * *

 _"The only thing I want to do, ever, is play chess." - Bobby Fischer_

The first time he encountered the game, he was at the beach.

 _"Hey, Jaune. Come here."_

 _The boy turned warily to his grandfather. Couldn't he see he was having fun in the sand? He liked the feel of it on his toes, and he liked picking up stones, and throwing them in the ocean. His dad taught him actually how to skip-_

 _"Little one, come on!"_

 _"Coming!" The little boy of only five years replied, a wide, innocent smile etched on to his face. He got up, dusted off the sand on his baggy shorts, and waddled on over to his grandfather. The old man's face crinkled in amusement as he came closer to the table. The little boy's eyes darted over to the checkered wooden board in front of his grandfather. He took notice the little toys that were on all placed peculiarly. He liked how the looked, for some reason._

 _"Hi, grandpa! Did you see me skip the rocks! Daddy taught me how!"_

 _The old man guffawed, raising Jaune over his head, and then seating him on his right leg._

 _"Yeah, I did, little Jaune, you've gotten very good at it, too."_

 _The little boy gave him another wide smile, before pointing at the wooden board in front of him._

 _"What's this?"_

 _The old man's eyes widened, before they settled in a vague calmness._

 _"This is called a chess board. On it, you play the game of chess."_

 _The little boy gave him a sound of understanding. The old man could easily predict his train of thought. The little boy's raised eyebrow was all he needed._

 _"….What's chess?"_

 _The old man gave him a smile._

 _"Have you wanted to live in a castle, be a king, have royal subjects, and the like?"_

 _The boy looked excited now._

 _"Only all the time! I'd slay dragons, fight baddies, and, best of all, I get to order people around!"_

 _The little boy enunciated each of his fantasies with his hands, to which only the grandfather could adore in his head._

 _"Well, chess is just that! On this board, you can have that life. In a game of chess, this board becomes your world."_

 _A look of wonder came to Jaune's face._

 _"Wow…sounds cool. What are these little toy things?"_

 _The grandfather began to arrange the little toys._

 _"Not toys, Jaune, for they are your loyal subjects, bending to your very will. We call them pieces. In fact, you are right here."_

 _He held up a crowned piece for Jaune to take. The little boy carefully took it in his hands, weighing it gently._

 _"This piece is called a king. He is the the most important piece of the chess board, but he is old and tired, so he's also the weakest."_

 _His explanation made sense enough. He didn't understand how his grandpa could tell the piece's ago though. He gave him another piece to hold, this time a horse._

 _"This is called a Knight. He's one of your loyal subjects, and he packs quite a punch. He can single handedly save you in a pinch!"_

 _The boy rubbed his thumb over the piece's carved eyes. It felt good in his hands._

 _"….Knights are cool. I wanna be a knight one day, too, grandpa."_

 _"Don't say that too soon!", The old man exclaimed, lifting a pointed piece for him to hold. "What if you want to be a bishop instead? This piece can attack from afar, unlike a knight, whose range is quite limited."_

 _Jaune studied the bishop curiously. He felt the point on the bishop's head, before a pained look came to his face. "Man….now I don't know what I wanna be…"_

 _Next, the old man picked up the piece that looked like a castle. "Is this….", Jaune said the next few words in a high pitched tone, "…my castle?"_

 _The old man gave a gravelly laugh; Jaune could feel the sound rumble in his stomach._

 _"Not quite, little one. This here is called a rook. He is a little bit stronger than both the bishop and the knight. He can attack in straight lines, in any direction."_

 _After holding it in his hands, touching the little spikes on top of the piece, he turned to his grandfather with a harmless glare._

 _"Stop giving me so many good choices!"_

 _The old man returned a dry smile."Well, if there's anything you can't want to be, its this." He picked up the piece standing steadily next to the king._

 _"This is called a Queen."_

 _A look of disgust came to the young boy's face."Ugh… girls are gross. I head they have this thing called cooties."_

 _The old man looked amused as he gave him a nod."The Queen is the strongest piece in the game, however. She is your symbol of power, your greatest weapon. She can attack in any direction, as far as she wants. No one is safe from her range, besides a Knight, who moves in an L-shape."_

 _Jaune grimaced, a dramatic pout coming to his face."Man…why can't the king be the strongest piece? Aren't old people supposed to be strong, like you, grandpa?"_

 _The old man was quick to smile, but Jaune didn't miss the unknown look that came before. He didn't like that one at all._

 _"Not always…Jaune. Eventually, we entrust our power to the future generation." This time, he picked up the smallest piece._

 _"This, Juane, is what you are, right now at least. This is a pawn, the weakest piece on the entire board. He can only attack diagonally for one square, and is often sacrificed for the sake of victory."_

 _The boy's eyes narrowed, getting of his lap in an instant, arms barreled outward. "I'm no pawn. I'm strong and big. I'll have you know, I drink milk!"_

 _The old burst out laughing, but then his expression settled down into a sincere smile. "But Jaune, although you may be weak now, you walk only forwards, not backwards. You are courageous, and one day, your courage will change you into something else…"_

 _The old man then stood up slowly, his eyes boring into the little boy, who suddenly stiffened up. Jaune would never forget his next words._

 ** _"Remember, Jaune, you can do anything."_**

He snapped back to reality in an instant, realizing he was still on the bullhead towards Beacon Academy, one of the four great chess schools.

Hip hip, hooray.

The young man of 17 years glanced around him, eyeing the many clusters of students huddled around each other. He watched as they talked animatedly with each other. Some of the students had even started playing with each other. He could vaguely hear the click of the pieces as they hit the board.

He gave a long sigh. He didn't want to be a loner again. His fist pressed up against his cheek, as he sat in his seat next to the window, which seemed to be his only source of comfort. He liked the way the clouds look in the sky. That one right there looked like rhino. He then remember the time he went to the zoo with his dad. A lion had just come in from -

"Uh, Helllloooooo?"

He jumped out of his seat, standing up straight and tall. He came face to face with a beautiful, blond girl, whose clothes would've given any doting father a nightmare, and a smaller, black haired girl, whose eyes were strangely silver. He eyed the red tips of the little girls hair.

He thought they were kind of cute.

"Can I…Can I help you?" He said, hands rubbing against each other nervously. He felt a tight slap on his back, wincing in pain. The blond girl was laughing at him, while the other girl was peering dangerously at her friend.

"Why so serious? What's wrong; afraid of talking to a couple of girls?"

"No, I just shouldn't be near other people. I have air sickness. I vomit a lot ." He lied quickly, spewing out whatever came to his head. He grimaced internally. The truth was that he did have air sickness, but his mom gave him tablets to prevent that. Jaune himself, didn't know why he lied.

 _Real smooth, Jaune…._

"Yang, he probably just doesn't want to talk to us." The young girl said, sensing his apparent discomfort. Yang was about to say , had he offended them? He had no trouble talking to anyone!…Maybe a little. But he didn't want them to know that! Oh god, he didn't want them to get the wrong idea.

"That's not true!" He exclaimed quickly, causing the two girls to jump suddenly in fright. He couldn't find himself to look at their faces, so his eyes found themselves downcast. "I like girls. W-Wait! I- uh- I mean - um, I like t-talking to girls! I mean like, I'm not a like a womanizer or anything but…I mean I didn't want to talk to you that way. Chivalry and all that. Not that I don't want to talk to you both that way! I mean… um…."

He looked up. The combination of their slightly amused expressions caused him to sharply look away. Well, there goes Jaune Arc, failing once again. His eyes scrunched up in pain; he couldn't believe he screwed up again! He started to get up, his back hunched over in apparent gloom.

"I'll leave you guys alone…."

He started to walk away, before a strong hand grasped his arm, halting him instantly. The girls were laughing at him, but their laughs weren't like….the ones before. Yang pulled him back to them, calming down a bit.

"You're a funny guy. What's your name?"

He stiffened up, trying to look into the girl's lilac eyes. He found himself focusing in on one of them. Wow, they were really pretty. Like the gems he found at the beach that one time. They were purple too.

He snapped back to reality, realizing five seconds had passed before her question was asked.

 _Crap!_

He stood straight as a board, and saluted for some god forsaken reason.

"Good evening, Yang. My name is Jaune Arc, and I'm 17 years old. It's nice to meet you."

The two girls stared incredulously at him, before laughing again at his flustered greeting.

"Why - Why are you saluting?" The red haired girl said, her giggle baring into his head. He liked the sound of it. It made him feel weird inside.

A tinge of red came to his cheeks, becoming vaguely aware of the fact that he was still saluting. HIs hand shot downwards instantly, and he found himself looking away agin.

"No reason?"

"Where'd you come from, a military family?" The smile Yang gave him made his heart leap out of his chest. Her eyes, he swore, looked like stars. God, he needed to calm down. He breathed in deeply, and the out. He saw on TV one time this guy who said breathing in and out was a good way to calm down. He was eating macaroni at the time. The cheese was pretty good.

"N-NO! I just was recalling something I saw on TV. The guy was saluting the other guy, and he was like…", His voice became a tad bit lower, remembering quickly what it sounded like," Good evening, Marc, my name is Colonel Westrow. Don't what kind of name Colonel is. Never heard of it too."

The blond girl was now staring at him, an unreadable expression on her face.

He then suddenly remembered the next show he saw after that. It was a drama, and one of the girls didn't like the fact that a guy was using her first name in greeting. He realized in horror, he had been using Yang's name without her ever introducing herself to him. Oh god, he'd better fix this fast.

"Oh- um….Ya- Miss. Yang. Sorry f-for using your first name! I didn't mean to be rude…" He said quickly.

He smiled internally; he covered himself quite nicely. Now there is not way they would- They were laughing again, to his utter embarrassment. The blond girl was hunched over in hysterical laughter, while the other girl was trying to stifle hers into her fist.

He decided he should shut up now. The blond girl calmed down after a good thirty seconds. Thank god.

"You're alright, Jaune Arc. I like your attitude." She suddenly straightened out, her hand coming to her forehead in a mock salute. He didn't know what to make of that.

"Good Evening, Jaune Arc, I am Super President Badass Superstar McAwesomeville Yang Xiao Long. And this is my sister, the Under-Secretary Of Being Kind Of Okay, Ruby Rose."

The younger girl whacked her sister on the arm, before curtsying to him, a sly smile on her face. He remembered on a cartoon once a princess was curtsying to a prince, and the prince bowed back, so he quickly bowed in her direction as well. The girl narrowed her eyes in confusion, before giggling lightly. He didn't know if that was good or bad thing.

Super President Badass Superstar McAwesomeville, and Under-Secretary of Being Kind of Okay….WOW! He wondered what kind of jobs they had. Obviously they were students of their chess school. Already having jobs though, that was kind of impressive.

"Wow, I've never met a Super President Badass Superstar McAwesomeville and an Under-Secretary of Being Kind of Okay! Um, what do you both do exactly?"

They were staring at him funnily again. They exchanged a look between each other, before they turned to him with slightly amused looks. His hands found themselves burying in to his jacket pockets.

"You can call me Yang, Jaune. And you can also call Ruby, well, Ruby." The blond girl said, merriment in her eyes. Looks like the work they did stressed them out so much they didn't want to talk about it. Figures - having a job as a teenager sucks. He remembered he had to work the entire summer as the assistant at this paper company. He didn't do much, just read each number that went on the conveyer belt and write it down. He was good at that.

"So….do you guys lo -like chess, too?" He asked cautiously. Ruby gave him a raised eyebrow, gesturing around.

"What do you think?"

Realization dawned on his face soon after.

"Right, stupid question."

A woman suddenly appeared in the center of the room, her outline was tinged blue. He gasped in utter shock, his mind not understanding what he was seeing. How had the woman appeared out of nowhere? What sort of ability- wait a second. He recognized her now; she was Miss Glynda Goodwitch. He remembered back when he was eight she made a sandcastle with him as she talked to mom. She was smiling brightly at him then, but now she had a stern look on her face. But still, he couldn't understand how she had seemingly teleported into the room, so he found himself hiding behind Yang, his hands on her shoulders. She looked and felt strong.

"….Jaune? What are you doing?" Yang asked.

He could only stare at her in shock.

"How are you not freaking out right now? How did- What the-." He sputtered out, pointing viciously at the woman coated in blue. Confusion first came to their faces, snapping between him and Glynda.

After a few seconds, he could tell Ruby and Yang were trying really hard not to laugh.

"What?"

Ruby turned to him with a dry smile. "Jaune, its a hologram."

"A holo-what?"

"We'll explain it later, buddy, just pay attention to what she's saying." Ruby then turned back, listening intently to what the hologram was saying.

Jaune's heart hammered in his chest. Buddy. She called him buddy. He didn't want to believe it was true. Buddy was a synonym for friend, so that meant they were….

"Yeah, ok…. _friend_." He tested warily, looking straight at the hologram of .

A second passed, and another passed.

She hadn't said anything back to him. He cheered wildly inside his mind.

He was no longer alone, he had a friend named Ruby Rose.

His world was suddenly a lot brighter now.

—

"Well, my friends are here, gotta go, Ruby, Jaune!" Yang exclaimed, running off into the distance with a crowd of people. Her sister spun around in a daze, muttering gibberish, before falling…into a bunch of white briefcases.

He was about to help her up, until he got interrupted by the shrill voice of a girl.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?"

He sharply turned around, getting ready with a string of apologies, until he found unable to speak. The silver haired girl in front of him was stunning. She would have been perfection if she didn't have that scar running down her eye. For some reason, he found that the scar served to accentuate her perfection, rather than damage it.

He then noticed her pale, blue eyes narrowing into a glare.

"….Why are you staring?"

"Sorry, you're really pretty, my name's Jaune, and wow, you're really pretty-"

He slapped a hand over his mouth in horror. The shock on her face did little to assuage his embarrassment.

"Why the nerve of some people! Have you no shame?"

He winced in pain, his heart constricting in his chest. Gosh, how was he supposed to explain himself. He knew he shouldn't think such things about people you don't know, but he couldn't help it.

"Hey, we're sorry. Jaune's a little weird, but he means no harm. I'm sorry I knocked over you suitcases." Ruby said quickly, trying to appease the girl in front of here, to no avail.

"And you,! Aren't you a little young to be here? Do you even know who I am?"

Now that she mentioned it….. Ruby did look a little young to be attending Beacon Academy. The girl looked like she was expecting an answer.

"Um, we don't know, who are you, fair mai- who are you?" Jaune asked.

"She's Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Chess Federation, one of the major governing bodies of the game.."

A black haired girl with a peculiar looking bow sauntered over to their little squabble. Jaune took note of her amber eyes, and her porcelain skin, and wondered how many beautiful girls he was going to meet today.

"Finally some recognition!"

"The same company currently accused of questionable business activity."

Questionable…business activity? He couldn't understand what the girl was saying, but it seemed to offend Weiss. The girl threw her hands up in defeat and stormed off. He heard Ruby's quiet sigh, relieved that the situation had been resolved.

"Hey thanks for…."

Her voice died in her throat as she saw the black haired girl walk away with no explanation. Seeing the dismal expression on her face, he panicked. His mom always said to make your friends happy, no matter what.

"Hey Ruby! What's say we go to orientation, ok!" He said, giving her a thumbs and a wide grin. The girl stared at him a for a few seconds, before giving him small smile.

"Lead the way."

Lead… the way?

"Uh…."

"You don't know where it is, do you?"

He gave no answer, looking down in shame. He failed to make his friend happy. The first thing his new friend asked him to do, and he messes up! Why couldn't he do anything right!

"Hey, don't look so sad!" She exclaimed, grabbing his right hand. A deep flush came to his face, startled at the sudden contact. Her silver eyes gleamed in the sun. "Follow me!"

He thought, for a second, that his time at Beacon Academy might not be so bad.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: VERY IMPORTANT FOR CONTEXT: Look up "Algebraic Notation" on wikipedia. You'll need it if you want to see what happens in the game within._**

* * *

 _Grandmaster : a chess player of the highest class, especially one who has won an international tournament._

As soon as they found where the other students had congregated for orientation, Ruby ditched him.

"Sorry Jaune, see you later!" Ruby waved as she ran towards her sister, who was arguing about something with Weiss Schnee.

Great, now what was he supposed to do? He stood awkwardly in the center of the crowd, which further served to accelerate his anxiety. Was this what it was going to be like for the rest of the year? Ruby and Yang ditching him for other, BETTER, friends? He almost cried in frustration as it seemed like he was being further and further separated form the crowd.

Oh god, he needed to find more friends. But how? Finding two was hard enough….

His pitiful thoughts came to a halt.

Wait a second…. no it hadn't! He remembered that both Ruby and Yang were the ones to walk up to him. But why, why did they walk up to and talk to someone like him? What made Yang have the courage to do what she did? How did they talk to him so casually, like an old friend? He reviewed his particularly interesting features….

He remembered Yang called him funny. Ok, _funny_ is always a compliment.

And then Yang had also called him _alright._ That meant he wasn't great, just alright. His shoulders slouched in despair.

Well, that was until he felt a sudden pressure on his shoulder.

"You're going to burn a hole into the ground if you keep thinking so hard."

Speak of the devil. He had no time to think of a retort. He barely registered her beautifully done red hair, or her rather charming emerald eyes. Nor did he take note of how particularly revealing her clothing was.

Ok, seriously, Beacon Academy was a womanizer's dream world.

"Oh um….I was just thinking about….stuff." He stammered. The girl leaned in as she tilted her head right.

"Stuff?"

"Yeah, stuff….of various varieties...and paradigms." He blurted out. On the outside, he was as calm as the ocean on a still day. On the inside however, his mind was a hurricane of thoughts.

 _What the hell did I mean by varieties? And more importantly…..what the heck is a paradigm?_

The girl, thankfully, seemed to sense his embarrassment. She looked around her for a second for some reason. "My name is Pyrhha….Nikos. What's yours?"

He felt her piercing gaze bore through his eyes. He looked into hers and found…hesitation. What was she being so cautious about anyways? He didn't look like a delinquent did he? Worse, was she being targeted by other students? WAS SHE A SP-

Stop.

"My name is Jaune Arc, and I'm seventeen years old. It's nice to meet you."He said evenly, stretching out a hand for her to shake. The look on her face changed from shocked, to calm, and then _overwhelming happiness_. She was practically shining as she shook his hand back. He couldn't stop the grin that came to his face, so much so that his cheeks started hurting.

Wow, greeting people normally sure makes them happy. He took note of that if another person talked to him again.

"Well, we better pay attention to what Professor Ozpin is about to say. I hope to see you again, _Jaune._ " Pyrhha then walked away from him.

His eyes turned to the grand stage in front of him, where a man in green was about to greet them. He guessed that was Professor Ozpin. He was rather well-dressed, and was white-haired. HIs features of his face, however, suggested that he wasn't that old. Their headmaster was casually sipping… something as he began to speak.

"I'll…keep this brief." He regarded them with his spectacles. Pin drop silence had followed after his first words.

"You have traveled her today in search of knowledge - to hone your skills as chess players and, _just maybe_ , become chess masters. You plan to dedicate your entire life to the game of chess, for the sake of glory, or for the sake of pride. Your every thought, motion, and sound will be centered around the sport our world cherishes most. But when I look amongst you, I see that some of you lack that conviction, and I'm here to tell you, that that's okay."

The students around Jaune seemed to let out a sound of relief. He found himself absolutely livid however. What did Ozpin mean by that? He loved chess more than anything the world had to offer, and he had already dedicated his life to it. He felt his teeth grind against each other.

"So what if your left behind in the dust by your peers? So what if your roommate turns out to be in all the history books, while your name is lost in the oblivion called time? You will just be one of the millions of people to walk through these halls… _and never do anything_. "

A large majority of students now looked to one another with a strange confidence. Jaune had a hard time understanding what Ozpin was saying. It seemed like he was being mean for no reason.

The headmaster surveyed the expressions of the students closest to him, looking pleased at their looks of determination. Jaune, still, was angry. None of the man's words had anything to do with him.

"…It appears that some of you understand what I'm getting at. This school will only provide you a direction, but it is you, the chess champions of tomorrow, who have the first move."

Ok, he literally didn't understand why people were cheering. This man had just insulted them in the worst place possible, and they were CHEERING for him? He was at a loss for words.

"Now students, make your way to the ballroom for sleeping arrangements. I advise you get a good rest for initiation tomorrow. You'll need it.'"

Their headmaster then walked of the stage, and the crowd began dispersing and shuffling into the other room to get their luggage, or heading straight to the ballroom to sleep. Jaune stood still in the center of the room.

He hadn't the foggiest idea what initiation was.

After changing into comfortable sleepwear, he made his way to the ballroom, where he caught sight of Pyrhha. The red haired girl flashed him a quick smile, before walking off to find somewhere to sleep.

He took a moment to gaze in awe at the amount of students present. Many of them were talking to one another, and he could only imagine, about chess. His heart began beat wildly in excitement, the thought of making friends with people who loved the same thing he did. He carried his bedroll over to center of the room, where he spotted Yang and Ruby. Grinning, he quickly walked over to them.

Ruby was writing something in a little notebook, while her sister was laying down next to her, talking to the younger girl.

"Hello again, Ruby, Yang." He greeted cautiously. The blond girl greeted him a sideways smile.

"Sup, Vomit boy."

Wait, what?

"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed, whacking her grinning sister on the head."That was kind of mean. He didn't even vomit!"

"I'm no Vomit boy! How could you call me that!" He yelled at Yang. Her face dipped downwards slightly, and she quickly sat up straight, in criss-cross. She was acting nervous for some odd reason.

"Oh. Well, I'm sor-"

He wasn't going to hear any of it.

"I'm a Vomit man, damnit. Get your facts straight. " He finished confidently. He cackled to himself as he took his place next to Ruby's makeshift bed. Now there's no way they can make fun of-

They were laughing at him again. Sighing, he laid down in his bedroll in resignation.

"Anyways, what were you guys talking about?" He hoped it was about something he could join in on. Yang shrugged her shoulders.

"Ruby's nervous about making friends for some reason. She thinks because you count as a friend and Weiss counts as a negative friends, she's made no friends."

"Ruby, thats ridiculous." He said instantly, arms supporting his head as he turned to both of them. Ruby looked surprised, and put down her notebook.

"Why do you think so?"

"You can't have a negative friend. Its simply impossible. You just haven't really met the real Weiss yet."

Yang was actually smiling at him now. "Didn't expect to hear that coming from you, Jauney… _man_."

He patted himself on his mental back."Besides, I'm pretty sure negatives only apply to math, not friends."

"Oh really, Captain Obvious?" She retorted, silver eyes narrowing slightly. Jaune was actually starting to get offended.

"Ok, first of all, I'm no Captain Obvious, I'm General Obvious, if anything. Second of all, you're the one that said that friends have a negative side. You can't put friends on a number line from negatives to positives! You can only put numbers! So hah!"

Now, he was at least one hundred percent sure, he had proven his point, and had eloquently presented his -

They were laughing at him again. He groaned into his pillow case; He would never understand females, or people in general, for as long as he lived.

They calmed down soon after. Yang pointed Jaune to the direction of the wall, where the black haired girl from this morning was sitting, reading a book. His eyes were again drawn to bow on her head.

"See that girl? I want Ruby to go up there and talk to her, but she's too much of a wuss."

"We don't even know each other, Yang! It'll be weird!" She reasoned weakly, covering her flushed face in her notebook.

"Well, you had the courage to talk to me with Yang at your side. Why don't you just have Yang come along as well?"

With that, the blond girl forcefully lifted her nervous sister up in one go, firmly grasping her hand and pulling her up quickly. Ruby had no time to voice her complaint."It's settled then, lets get moving, Rubes! YOO HOO!"

Jaune laughed at the girls unabashed confidence as she strode across the black haired girl peered up from the book she was reading, gazing cautiously at the bubbly blond girl calling her attention, followed in tow by Ruby. Jaune tried to see what exactly the girl was reading. He struggled to read the title. Locic…..Logic…Logical….Logical Chess….

At the term "chess", he found his feet moving themselves for him.

"I believe you two may know each other?" Yang said to the girl. Ruby finally wrenched her sister's grip off her and rubbed her arm in pain. "For the last time, Yang, we barely met each other in the courtyard."

She brushed herself off, and noticed that the mystery girl was staring at her."Oh, my name's Ruby Rose, and this is my sister, Yang Xiao Long. And this here is….. Jaune?"

The blond boy was seemingly transfixed by the book the girl held in her hands. The girl smirked a little, before her face became impassive again.

"Name's Blake. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm trying to read my book, _alone_."

The two sisters could only chuckle halfheartedly, both whispering things in frustration. Jaune was still focused on the book Blake held in her hands.

"What…what kind of book are you reading?" Jaune suddenly spoke up, drawing the attention of all three girls. Blake looked confused, before lifting up her book for him to see. "What this? Its a chess book, nothing much."

A look of amazement crossed his face. He didn't think people actually wrote books about the game he loved! He had no idea what was inside of it, or what it's content entailed. He took note of the title:"Logical Chess: Move by Move" by Irving Chernev.

"Um…. what's it about?" He asked. Her amber eyes studied him closely, and he found himself stiffening up again. Ruby let out a weak chuckle.

"Go easy on him, he didn't even know what a hologram was."

Ok, that was a low blow. He felt his cheeks burning, as he glared at her. "Hey, I know what it is now! What's that got to do with this!"

A small giggle escaped from Blake's lips, causing the two sisters to blink in confusion. The black-haired girl settled down into a light smile."I don't mind. You obviously are new to the game, correct?"

"No! As a matter of fact, I've played my entire life!" Jaune said sharply. She raised an eyebrow.

"And you've never read a chess book before?"

Jaune found himself at a loss for words. He turned to both Yang and Ruby, who both looked like they were on Blake's side for this matter. Had they all read actual books about chess? That must have meant he was seriously behind everyone else, considering he didn't even know you could study chess. He thought you had to learn it yourself, based on what his grandfather taught him. Why hadn't his grandpa told him about the existence of such books? He would have read all of them if he could! He sighed in resignation.

"Look… I didn't come from the….best place ever. I didn't have books, nor did I have anyone to play with except myself. I learned myself, by myself, for myself.I love chess more than life itself and. . for the longest time… The only thing I've wanted to do, ever, was play chess. Thats enough proof I need." He grumbled, crossing his arms. They were going to start laughing at him again or something. He could already feel the onslaught of their giggles as he-

What?

They weren't laughing. Instead, he found both Ruby and Yang exchange looks of amazement with each other, and then stare at him curiously. But what surprised him most was the grin that was now evident on Blake's face. He found himself at a loss for words; stunned by how marvelous she looked under the dim moonlight. He shook his head to get those thought out of his head. He needed to change the subject.

He cleared his throat loudly, and he began to return to his bed."W-Well, it's getting late, and I've probably embarrassed myself enough. Good night,Blake."

"Wait!"

He halted right in his place, and turned cautiously around. Ruby and Yang were giggling for some god forsaken reason(He would never, in his life, EVER, understand women). Blake was holding out her book for him. He eyed the spine; it was obviously well worn, but it looked to be in good condition. "Here, take this."

"Wha- I can't take it. Its yours."

She surprisingly got up and pushed it into his hands. She gave him a sly smirk."It looks like you need it a lot more than me. And if you might wanna read the opening lines of the book, for a little… inspiration."

His rubbed his hand over the worn cover, before looking into Blake's eyes with a sincere smile."Thanks a lot, Blake."

"Don't mention it." She said sharply, turning away quickly, but not fast enough for him to miss the flush that came to her face. He quickly nodded his head, and hustled back to his bedroll. He sat down quickly, and then carefully opened the first page.

He then read the opening words carefully.

" _You can only get good at chess if you love the game - A great Grandmaster._ " His jaw opened slightly, before he laughed to himself quietly. Geez…girls are so weird sometimes. He turned to first page….

"Lets see here…. Chess Notation and Symbols…."

* * *

The next morning, the students were promptly woken up at 8 am, much to their discomfort. The people that decided to stay up all night cursed their miserable fates. Today was the day: initiation.

And Jaune realized his fatal mistake: He still didn't know what initiation was.

Teachers of Beacon were currently handing out uniforms for them to change into, so he simply followed the crowd of students wherever they were headed. He had already changed into his uniform: a classic suit with gold details and a red tie. On it's right arm, the symbol of a horse was emblazoned proudly. He ran his fingers over the feel of it, and felt his heart race in excitement. He grinned to himself.

No more awkward chit-chat, and no more beautiful girls to fluster him. Now it was time to prove himself.

After getting changed, the incoming students were then asked to head to the auditorium and get ready for initiation. With this, the blond breathed out a sigh of relief. He decided he should try to find his newfound friends, so he started to look around for any familiar sign of yellow and black hair, but realized many people around him had the same color. Jaune pulled out the book Blake had given him, and started to read the next chapter.

 _The Kingside attack. It is not the purpose of this book to bewilder you with magical effects: it is to show you how they are produce. Take the ever popular kingside attack: its wildly attractive because it features combinative play with its brilliant sacrifices. It is appealing to the common chess player because it aims for a quick killing blow, rather than a slow-build up of advantage. But when and how do you start a kingside attack? Must you wait for an inspiration? The answer is very simple, its…_

"Ooof!" Jaune yelped, bumping into someone's back. A tall boy with raven hair and pink highlights stood in front of him. He wore his uniform impeccably, and seemed to be a very graceful at first glance.

"Oh, sorry about that…um…"

The boy gave him easy-going smile, and extended a hand out."Its Ren, Lie Ren."

Jaune shook it gratefully. Finally, a real guy he could talk to."Jaune Arc. Wanna walk to initiation together?"

Rea looked left and right, before sighing in resignation."Sure, it seems I can't find my friend anywhere around here. I'm quite worried for her, you see. She's quite….hyperactive."

"She?"

"…We're childhood friends."

"Oh."

The two students then proceeded into the auditorium, which had been apparently cleared of all of its equipment, and instead had been replaced with rows and rows of tables, all having chessboards equally spaced on them. Jaune had never seen so many clustered together in his life. He had only used one chessboard his entire life, and because he was missing some of the pieces, he had to replace them with rocks. He took a gander at some of the pieces, and noticed that they were carved in high-quality wood that made them shine under the auditorium lights. The boards themselves were evidently washed and cleaned.

The blond boy shook his head in amazement."They _really_ … clean up, don't they?"

"Quite." Rea was also eyeing the depth of cleanliness Beacon Academy had for their equipment.

Juane now bore a thoughtful expression. "Back where I lived, I had to use an incomplete set, and a mat to play. I didn't think people made pieces and boards as good as these…"

"Really? This is quite average for…." Ren was now also inspecting him curiously, and after a bit, turned away."Never mind."

What was that all about? His thoughts were halted when he noticed coming into the center of the room, waiting to give instructions.

She adjusted her glasses, typing away into a device of some sort."Alright, students, we will soon begin initiation. You will face an assigned opponent of equal skill level who will test your speciality, which you chose before you came to Beacon. Take out your student ID and look at the number next to your speciality, That is your assigned row number. Once you have identified it, head to your assigned table."

Jaune took out his ID that was given to him before he arrived at Beacon.

"Uh, Ren?"

"Yes?"

He turned to his new found friend with a confused look. "What does it mean to be a "SPEC. CASE"?"

Ren took his friend's ID into his hands, and inspected it. Sure enough, Jaune had no speciality next to his name, rather the words,"SPEC. CASE"

Returning his friends ID, Rea grimaced."Its obviously an abbreviation for "special case". I guess you should bring it up to the headmistress."

The students had already dispersed into finding there assigned row, so it made it less awkward to talk to the headmistress directly. Jaune said farewell to Ren and headed off to talk to . He tapped her gently on the shoulder, and promptly yelped as her sharp eyes fixed onto him.

"…um, excuse me ? I don't know if you remember me but…"

"Jaune." She said, taking on a much softer tone."You're all grown up now. Of course, I remember you. How is your mother? Doing well, I hope?"

He genuinely didn't know how to respond to the headmistress's change in tone. To be honest, he just remembered playing with her on the beach."Um, yeah, she's doing fine. Always nagging me to do stuff. You know, _mothers_."

She laughed lightly."I suppose I am at fault for that. Tell me Jaune… do you remember what we were doing together when you were….lets see…."

"Three years old? I think I do. We were playing on the beach near my grandpa's house. You were…", Jaune scrunched his eyes."You were smiling a lot at me. We were playing in the sand, collecting seashells. You told me one of them was called a "Shark Eye" because of the way it looked under the sun. I didn't understand it back then. Then you helped me make a sand cas- I'm rambling. My bad." Jaune rubbed the back his neck in embarrassment.

His teacher, however, gaped in shock."You…remembered all that?"

"Well, yeah….what's wrong?"

Silence ensued, a light smile coming to her face. She looked away from him for a second, muttering something under her breath. She switched to a more professional expression, eyes sharpening once more. "Nothing's wrong, Mr. Arc. I suppose you're wondering about your speciality, correct?"

He chuckled nervously, and nodded."We have a special…test for you, . Head to row 1, table 1." She looked rather serious now. "Word of advice: be careful, Jaune. You learned chess by playing only against yourself and your grandfather. The people here have learned by competing against a wide variety of opponents. Your initiation….is a little bit more _challenging_ than the other students, considering your…circumstances. Professor Ozpin created it just for you. "

Jaune didn't get it. Why was he being given a harder test than everyone else. That had to be against the rules. "Wait, what circumstances? I'm as normal as anyone else! Why am I a special case?"

Her expression softened. He could tell she was struggling to say something."You are.…One day, you'll understand why this was the best we could do."

He stomped on the floor in frustration.

"I KNOW! I just…"Thankfully, the cacophony of the student's chatter covered his little outburst. That didn't matter though, right now.

"First mom wants me to attend Beacon for some strange reason, and now I'm actually being challenged harder to get into a school I don't even want to get into…." She remained silent during his selfish admission. "And to top it all off, no one will tell me why I'm "special", or why grandpa did what he did! I was perfectly fine staying with mom, playing chess with myself. It was a lot easier, too. Now I have to deal with…people."

" … I was like you once. I… didn't know how to talk to people as well. The only thing that I ever knew was how to exceed expectations. Your mother was the one to bring me out of my shell. I have a feeling this school will give you what your mother gave to me: an opportunity to change into someone else. Now, I suggest you hurry to your table. Your opponent, in particular, doesn't like to be kept _waiting_."

She was glaring at something now, but he didn't know what. He sighed, and made his way to the his assigned table. A large amount of the students had assembled near the head of the row, however. He shrugged and headed to tried to find his table. Upon further inspection, he realized _his table_ was the one everyone was crowding around. Agitated, he attempted to push his way to the head of students. Literally forcing his way into the front, he spotted his friends Ruby and Yang chatting excitedly to a man seated rather elegantly in a chair opposing him. The younger sister had her arms wrapped around the man's arms, which the adult took in strides. Every other student was staring at him in awe.

Jaune took a moment to study the man's features. He was drinking alcohol out of a flask, most noticeably. He had dark, spiky hair, that was graying slightly, and had deep red eyes. He wore a simple gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, with similar matching shoes. The tipsy look in his eye gave off the fact that he was drunk.

Yang was still talking to him as he wordlessly took his seat, too annoyed to even call for their attention. No one else seemed to notice that fact."Man…whoever has the power to face you must be a real ladykiller, Uncle Qrow. Wonder when's he gonna get here."

"um….I'm here." Jaune stammered, a little too quietly.

"I had no idea your uncle was _the_ Qrow Branwen, Ruby. That's actually quite impressive." Weiss commented with a grin. The drunk man took in her presence with wide eyes.

"Wi-Winter? Is that you?" He said, taking another swig of his drink.

The Schnee heiress looked a little flustered now."Uh…that's my sister. . I'm your niece's friends."

Wow, how the hell did that happen? One minute she was literally at arms against Ruby, and now they're actually friends? Girls and their logic would never make sense to him.

"Uh…hello?" He tried again, to no avail.

He then noticed Blake was standing next to Weiss, arms crossed, her gaze fixed on Ruby and Yang's uncle. "I'd never thought I'd meet a grandmaster in person. I figured people of your level would be traveling the globe, busy in competition."

Qrow laughed earnestly, like it was a joke."Ah, yeah, I mostly just diddle around in small tournaments and stuff, like getting people outside the four kingdoms into the sport. Old Ozpin brought me here to test a peculiar student, someone who "couldn't be tested by normal means"." He gave air quotes as he spoke.

Jaune had enough. Groaning, he slammed his head against the table repeatedly. It was worse enough he to supposedly face a master or something like that, but now they weren't even acknowledging him. Things were so much simpler back in-

"Wait I think your opponent is here….. JAUNE!?" Ruby exclaimed suddenly, gasping in shock.

He yelped in fright, sitting straight up. Almost all of the students were staring at him a little weirdly. He felt a little claustrophobic, all those eyes staring at him. He adjusted himself in his seat, pulling his chair up, and sat up a little straight, meeting the man's eyes with what he hoped was a confident look.

"um…hi."

Yang and Blake looked like their souls had left their bodies, to his horror, and Weiss was pinching her cheek for some odd reason. He wasn't really focused on that part though. The drunk man in front of him had fixed his gaze on him, and suddenly he felt an enormous pressure weighing down on his spirit. He didn't like the shark-like smirk that Qrow was giving him at all. It scared him to bits.

"Oh hoho. I've been waiting for you kid. " Qrow was cracking his knuckles, adjusting himself in his seat as well. He took another swig of his drink."You want some kid?"

Ok, he was pretty sure that was illegal."N-No!"

"You're gonna need it after,hic, after I'm through with you!" He finished off, chortling loudly as the rest of the students laughed alongside him. Jaune had never felt so betrayed in his life. Weren't they supposed to be cheering for him? Qrow finished of his drink, and rubbed his lips with his sleeves. He gestured to the board in front of him. Jaune was on the white side, and his opponent was on the black side. A score sheet and a ballpoint pen were placed next to his side.

"Now…heard from Professor Ozpin that you don't play chess too often with other people, right?"

Jaune was starting to lose some of the bravado he had. He scratched his cheek absentmindedly."Um, yes."

Now Ruby and Weiss were shaking their heads in disbelief, jaws left open ajar. The audience had most noticeably gone silent, not even bothering with their own tests at the moment. It was then that he realized that almost everyone in the first _and_ second rows were trying to get glance at what was going on.

"…Geez, you must be really famous." He was trying to calm himself down with some light humor, something he read in a self-help book. Qrow took a moment to register his words, and then was bursting out laughing.

"Kid, you're really dense, aren't you?" He had to be toying with now.

"Wha- you don't even know me! I'm not dense!" He exclaimed. He could see his friends all give him a "Are-you-kidding-me" look. Qrow snapped his fingers, getting his attention. His expression became a little more challenging now, and for some reason, Jaune felt something in the bottom of his stomach start to churn. Like some fire had set a light in his spirit.

"We're going to play a game. _One_ game, untimed. You don't even have to win; you can lose if you want. I don't care. Just surprise me. " He then lazily sat back in his chair and picked his nose.

What.

"Wait..thats it?"

The master shrugged his shoulders and nodded. A bright smile came to his lips; so they had been messing with after all. He cracked his knuckles and rolled up his sleeves."Alright! This'll be easy."

His fellow peers had all collectively face-vaulted into the floor. Qrow was now laughing again, similarly to how both his nieces would have."Did I say something wrong?"

He calmed down quickly, seemingly not wanting to waste anymore time. "No, kid, just make you're move, and write it down on the score sheet."

This was it, his first match against a real opponent. He felt his heart beat wildly in his chest, measuring up the supposed master himself. A devilish grin came to his face.

The book Blake gave him had helped him out already; he wouldn't have a clue about what to write if he hadn't read the first chapter already. Resting his right fist in his cheek, he played his first move, and wrote it down on his score sheet.

 **[Jaune Arc vs Qrow Branwen]**

 _In chess, you should always develop your pieces toward the center. This action does multiple things: 1. It allows your pieces to attack more squares than if they were on the flanks. 2. It frees up the minor pieces completely blocked in by your central pawns, such as the bishop and queen. 3. It allows you to castle your king into safety much quicker._

 **1.e4!**

The crowd quieted down to watch the game unfold. "Well, at least you're not completely hopeless, kid. " Qrow surmised, making a logical move of his own.

 **1….e5**

Ruby shifted in her place."Uncle Qrow's not using his own speciality for this game. I guess he wants to go easy on him."

"Or maybe because he's drunk."Her sister joked, causing the man to glare at her.

"Hey, I'm always drunk!"

 **2\. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bb5?**

The crowd moaned in disbelief. Weiss shook her head in disappointment. "Is Jaune actually serious? Going into a Ruy Lopez against a grandmaster? Might as well have signed his own death warrant."

The blond boy could only raise an eyebrow."I'm always serious when I play, _Snow Angel_. And whats a Ruy Lopez? Sounds like a spanish matador or something."

Qrow was measuring his opponent up, as if questioning if he was being real or not. Jaune didn't flinch under his gaze.

Blake pulled out a little notebook. "The Ruy Lopez is a chess opening characterized by 1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 5. It seeks to create a difference between both sides early on, and makes for a very exciting game. As such, its one of the most heavily studied variations ever, with over 30 different lines of moves. Its not something you would play against a grandmaster, since he obviously knows a lot more than you, Jaune."

To be completely frank, Jaune learned algebraic notation literally on the walk over, so he couldn't really understand what Blake was saying. His grandpa never mentioned anything about "variations" or "lines"; he played just for fun. At least, until now. He knew he had to learn what they were talking about someday.

"Oh….I didn't know that." The boy shrugged. Qrow chuckled and played his next move.

 **3…Nge7**

A worried look came to his friend's faces."He's already deviating from the standard continuation…." Weiss muttered.

"Wait, but isn't a6 supposed to be what you're supposed to play?"Ruby inquired, tilting her head slightly."I think it was called Morty's defense, or something."

"Morphy's defense." Weiss correct quickly, feeling pleased with herself.

"Its a sideline, Ruby." Blake says dryly."He intends to throw Jaune off by using something slightly less seen nowadays. I don't even know what its called."

Qrow gave a low chuckle, overhearing the banter of his niece's friends. He was already drunk, and felt a little more open to talk."It's called the Cozio defense. But I suppose talking about opening theory to a guy who supposedly has never read anything about chess is like talkin' to a brick wall."

Juane nodded, repeating the name "Cozio". It sounded cool in his head. He would keep that in mind.

He made his next move.

 **4\. c3**

With this Qrow gave the boy across from him a critical look, so much so the blond had to look away in embarrassment. "What?"

The dark-haired man shrugged, making his next move.

 **4 … d6. 5. d4 Bd7 6. O-O**

"…For a guy who knows nothing…"Qrow let out a loud belch; the students around him recoiled in disgust."…about opening theory, you're playing pretty damn solidly."

Jaune had rushed out his moves, taking only seconds to consider them. Qrow had done the same.

His opponent looked away bashfully, rubbing the back of his head. The boy said nothing, however, returning only a nervous laughter.

"….Jaune's lasting pretty long without making a mistake." Yang said. Ruby shook her head in amazement."Not even I could get 6 moves in against Uncle Qrow without falling for his schemes. I do even worse when he's drunk."

Blake laughed a little."Really?"

"Yeah, Uncle Qrow doesn't even think when he's drunk. He just plays whatever he thinks is good, and it usually is." Yang replied.

Ren's interest had been piqued."So… like intuition, in a way."

Yang thought for a moment."Yeah, you could say that."

After a bit of thought, Qrow made his next move.

 **6… Ng6**

"…and I have no idea why he would do that." Ruby said miserably, clutching her head in confusion.

The rest of the audience could share the sentiment. Even Blake, whose face was normally impassive. now had a pensive look to it.

"Perhaps Nf5 is on the cards." Someone said.

"Yeah, probably." Another muttered.

Jaune paid no attention to his fellow peer's chatter, for an amazing idea had sprung into his head. It entered like a bolt of lightning, paralyzing the rest of his thoughts. After looking over the move he considered, he shook his head in pain, scrunching his eyes.

"Stumped, huh?" The drunk man had casually lain back in his seat, one hand twirling the bottle in his hand, the other strewn across his chest. Jaune only gave the man a cold look.

He wasn't stumped. Its just…the move he was considering was so complicated and weird that he wasn't sure it would work against a master like Qrow! He clutched his head in pain, restarting his thought process.

 _Ok, so that, that, he takes that, that, but what if that? Then maybe that or… that? GAH! This hurts so much._

"Jaune!"

He looked up wearily to the person calling his name. He recognized the red hair of Pyrhha Nikos. She was smiling at him, waving to get his attention. The crowd had gone silent upon seeing her though. Weird.

"Sometimes, Jaune, you should just do what your gut tells you, and ignore everything else." She advised with a grin, giving him a thumbs up.

 _Do what my gut….tells me to do…..Alright then!_

With determination, Jaune played his next move.

 **7\. Ng5!**

If the crowd had gone silent because of Pyrhha before, now it was dead silent because of Jaune's move.

"That can't be even slightly good."

"Yeah, looks it just gets kicked away for nothing."

"Mhmm."

Ruby crossed her arms, a slight huff escaping her lips."Geez, everyone's a critic."

Weiss assessed the game critically herself."Well… they are not wrong. Ng6 made a little bit of sense, preparing the knight to go to f5. I mean, practically, its not a good idea to a move a piece more than once in the first ten to fifteen moves, give or take. But your uncle could probably get away with it, being a grandmaster. Jaune, though, I'm not sure he knows what he's doing. Ng5 doesn't do much of anything, really."

"Hate to agree with Ice Queen, but she's right."Yang surmised; the heiress glaring at her slightly. "Looks like an obvious mistake to me." Still Yang, couldn't shake the feeling that Jaune was a little too serious for a mistake like that. He had to have thought of something.

Qrow, on the other hand, sighed, somewhat sad at the fact that he was wrong about the boy in front him. He thought he was something special, considering he had played the opening until that point perfectly, despite never having played against the Cozio defense. But it looked to him that Jaune lacked basic principles which every beginner is taught at first.

 _Ah well, suppose this is a good lesson for the kid._

With speed, he played his next move.

 **7...h6?**

Jaune ignored the severe feedback he got for his move, only focusing on the game entirely. His right hand had come up to his head, signifying that he was calculating… something. This action gave great confusion to the fellow audience members. There was nothing to calculate! Nothing Jaune could do to make his move seem good right now. The entire class assumed that Jaune would move his knight away, and try to make up for the lost time spent on moving the knight.

But Jaune had a different idea in mind. With an almost devilish smirk, he played his next move….

* * *

 **Now, my fellow readers, and chess fans(or soon to be chess fans), what do you think Jaune played?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Seeing your reviews give me great pleasure! Thanks to all who reviewed! Its nice to feel relevant, if only slightly...**

 **Now its time I think I should say sorry for confusing you. Many people messaged me saying they could not understand the "chess speak" I was using. I'll tone it down in the next few chapters. Sooner or later though, if you have read through the story, I'll be more flexible with the way I write.**

 **So let me clarify some words that were said in the last chapter.**

 **Kingside- A chess board is 8x8 squares. If you were to split it in half, one side would have kings, and the other would have queens, correct? The side which has kings is referred to as the Kingside, and the side which has queens is referred to as the Queenside. When you castle, you can castle Kingside, or you can castle Queenside, for example. When Juane reads the book given to him by Blake, detailing what a Kingside attack was, the book is talking about the strategy around attacking the enemy king. I'm sure, if any of you have ever played chess, the one thing everyone wants is a quick finish, because they seem cool, and make the game a bit more exciting! An attack is just when two or pieces attack one square in hopes of winning something.**

 **Opening: The opening refers to the first 10 or 15 moves, give or take. Chess has near limitless amount possibilities, but the two parts of chess that can be memorized is the opening and the endgame(I'll talk about this later). The Ruy Lopez is the name for chess opening characterized by 1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 5. This is not the only opening, in fact, there are many, all with unique names. The French defense, for example, is one of these openings.**

 **Lines- A line, commonly used in football in fact, is a series of moves that happen one after the other, which have been proven to be correct for both sides. For example, 1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 5, is the Ruy Lopez Line used in the story. So when Ruby refers to the LINE in which you play 3…a6 after 5, she is talking about the standard continuation, which most people play. When Jaune goes into a Ruy Lopez against Qrow, everyone reacts in similar fashion, disappointment. If you ever, EVER, play chess with a grandmaster, never go into a line in which he probably knows more than you. That is why Weiss remarks Jaune as having sealed his fate. Qrow, probably, knows 90% of all opening positions, being a grandmaster, so there is little you can do to surprise him in the opening. The Ruy Lopez is one of the most popular by beginners and masters, as it leads to complicated games, and as a result, there is little chance of a draw. So as you can expect, its not a great decision to choose such a challenging line against a grandmaster.**

 **Variations- Variations, as you would expect, are what make chess difficult, and fun, for most people(At least for me). Did you know that the Ruy Lopez's main line can go on for 30+ moves? Playing perfectly, every single chess game would be practically the same. But to win, however, one needs to induce some inequality in the game. A variation is what you would expect, another line that stems from the main line of an opening. The Cozio defense, which Qrow uses to throw off Jaune, is meant as a safeguard to Qrow. Qrow had no idea if Jaune had just memorized 30 moves perfectly, or if he was actually thinking for himself, so he played a variation which Jaune had little chance of knowing, thus taking Jaune out of his memorization(Not that he did, of course).**

 **Combination- Although this word was not used, it was implied. A combination is a series of moves that give an advantageto one side. To understand this, you must know the difference between strategy and tactics. A strategy is a long term plan to gain advantage. A tactic is a short term plan to gain advantage. Jaune employs a tactic in the game below, in fact.**

 **Minor Piece- Refers to knights and bishops. Pawns are not included, as they are just pawns.**

 **Major Piece- refers to rooks and queens.**

* * *

 _A win by an unsound combination, however showy, fills me with artistic horror - Wilhelm Steinitz_

 **[Jaune Arc vs Qrow Branwen]**

 **e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nge7 [Ruy Lopez: Cozio Defense] 4. c3 d6 5. d4 Bd7 6. O‑O Ng6 7. Ng5 h6…**

 **And now…**

 **8\. Nxf7!**

Qrow noted that the student held no hesitation upon making his move. If the kid knew how to do anything, it was to give a wake-up call. Technically, he already passed initiation, because all Qrow said was to surprise him.

But never in a hundred years would he expect something as ridiculous as this.

"Forgive my rudeness, but are you as drunk as me right now?" The master said. He was sitting up in his seat now, rather than in a casual, laidback position. Any sane man would in this situation, anyways. The boy was still focused on the game however, his eyes narrowed on the position in front of him. The audience that gathered around them had been stunned speechless.

Not one of them had the will to sacrifice a minor piece against a grandmaster. The risk of defeat was too much; there was too much at stake.

"Well….I'm completely lost." Yang mumbled. Weiss scoffed and waved her hand in dismissal.

"He probably just gave up or something." She mused. Blake and Ruby, who stood beside her, were silent in deep thought.

"The king's been lured out of his hiding place. The only way can take the knight is by the king." Blake said, with a slight smile. Shaking her head, she continued,"Damn, my head hurts just by thinking about it."

Ruby bit into her nails. Something in her gut told her the brave knight's sacrifice wasn't entirely correct, but on the other hand, she could not. To take, or not to take was the question, funnily enough. The knight was ripe for the taking, and there was no immediate threat of defeat, yet the old and weak king would be out in the open.

And plus, her uncle was drunk at the moment, so there was no way in hell he could think straight.

The master considered what to do next, and played his next move.

 **8\. …Kxf7 9. Bc4+**

The speed of Jaune's reply caused the older man to raise an eyebrow, giving a pointed look to the incoming student. He scoffed to the side. _Cheeky kid…_

The bishop, once staring in to the dark knight's cruel eyes, had now shifted his sights to the exposed king. No black piece could come between them without incurring a severe consequence. With his tired, old legs, the king could do nothing but move….

So Qrow, seeing no better option, played the only move available.

 **9\. … Ke7?**

"Wait…why would Uncle Qrow not move the king back to his original square?" Ruby inquired, tilting her head. The master saw no reason to withhold the information from her.

"Because then your friend here could pin my knight on g6 to the king with Qh5. And then I would lose it rather stupidly."

Jaune didn't know what needles had to do with chess, so he asked,"Pin? What's a pin?"

Almost half of the audience face vaulted into the floor, causing the man to laugh at their comical display."A pin is when you attack a more important piece through another piece. With Qh5, if you can imagine it in your head, if my king was on e8, the knight would no longer be able to move away, since doing so would mean the king would be under attack. Do you see?"

Jaune nodded his head, and played his next move.

 **10\. Qh5!**

The students shook their heads in disbelief. The grandmaster had already seen that move and expertly defended it! There was no point in such a move. All Qrow would have to do is defend with a something and the game would be over.

"Aww, man… I thought Jaune was gonna win. Well, figures, I couldn't get away with anything like that with Qrow in a million years." Yang was getting ready to leave the group of students to finish her own intiation. But she couldn't help but feel her hear go out to the blond boy. Her lilac eyes softened a little bit.

 _You tried your best, Jauney Boy…_

Ruby and Blake exchanged glances, and assessed the position in front of them. The White Queen had her sights set on the weakened dark knight, point blank. The two girls wonder why it was taking so long for Qrow to move, until they realized, with awe etched onto their faces, **he couldn't.**

The older man burst out laughing suddenly, before calming down quickly. The grin he gave Jaune was almost feral, his grey eyes open in amusement.

" _….The pin is mightier than the sword._ Never thought I'd get that lesson taught to me again so quickly. _"_ Qrow took another swig of his drink again, wiping his drink with his sleeve.

"Wait, why can't he just move the knight, its not pinned to anything!" Weiss exclaimed, arms crossed as she studied the position in front of her. Ruby clapped once in excitement, silver eyes opened in amazement. "It because its not pinned to anyone, rather its pinned to the square! _Go Jaune!_ "

Yes, the black king was now shaking in his boots in fear, realizing his trusty knight could no longer move. If it did, immediate execution would follow with Qf7#! The once proud knight, now stripped of its mobility, was now no better than a walking duck, waiting to slaughtered.

Qrow then noticed something rather…. peculiar. So he played his next move, and stared at Jaune expectedly, seeing if he would make the correct move.

 **10\. … Qe8?**

 _Alright kid, you surprised me…..if you get this one….I'll let you join Beacon Academy, full honors….if not…I'll still let you in, but you'll feel pretty bad not making THAT one move…._

Jaune returned the older man's look with confusion, shifting in his spot. Qrow was no longer focused on the board, rather, it seemed like he was focusing on him, waiting for him to do something. Staring at the position in front of him, he shifted in his spot uncomfortably.

Something deep within Jaune was gnawing at him, rather, it felt like an idea had invaded his body and mind, and threatened to take something away from him. Something deep within the back of his head was telling him,"This is a win, its right there, what are you waiting for?"

He hated his brain sometimes.

He rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. His gut instinct was telling him that he had won. But to win against a master was considered impossible for someone like him. A one in a million year occurrence. To think such a foolish thought would be naive….Was it? Could it be true? Could he actually win?

He could feel the steam coming out of his ears as his mind raced to find an answer. What would win him this game? What miracle would win him this game? He scrunched his eyes, trying to find an answer within himself.

"Kid….you can find the answer to any problem by working backwards." Qrow stated slowly. Jaune shot a look of doubt at his opponent. Why was he helping him? What would working backwards do? He shrugged his shoulders and gave it a shot.

 _Alright, how could I possibly give checkmate to the king? Well….for starters, one way is if I get the knight to move so I could move the queen there. But that doesn't look like its going to happen soon….Ok, think backwards. How many squares do I have covered? The bishop covers that diagonal… Wait a second…..All I need is something covering the other diagonal, and then the king won't be able to move! But how? How?….._

The boy leaned back in his seat, shifting his eyes from the board to Qrow, to somewhere in the sky, and then somewhere back down. A look of wonder crossed his face and his face started to visibly heat up. It looked like he had trouble breathing.

"He's excited about something….He's probably found an answer…"Blake murmured, a sly grin coming to her face. The others waited with bated breath for Jaune's next move.

The blond boy shifted back and forth in his seat, scratching the back of his head rapidly. Qrow closed his eyes in resignation, and sat back in his chair. After a few seconds, Jaune played one of the last moves of the game.

 **11\. Qg5+!**

Jaune played this move with a resounding thud, which seemed to echo through the building. The crowd, once in arms at Jaune's foolish play, was now stunned into silence. He feared that the crowd might hear his beating heart, or his heavy breathing, due to the pin drop silence. He gave a glance at his newly found friends. His eyes tunneled on Ruby, who had a hand held to her mouth in shock, her silver eyes wide in wonder. He felt his cheeks redden, for he was the one to give such a wonder to his friend. The air around him grew heavy, the tense atmosphere cutting out his senses.

The queen, having served her purpose, sacrificed herself for the greater good. Allowing herself to become ambushed by a lowly pawn, all for the sake of victory. The black king, caught out in the middle of his forces, was nothing more than mincemeat to the white forces now.

The tension all came crashing down as Qrow slowly got up, and with shark-like grin, played the only move he could.

"Well done, kid." The master held out his hand for Jaune to shake.

 **11\. … hxg5**

With a smile that could light up the sun, Jaune got up, shook Qrow's hand, and played the final move of the game.

 **12\. Bxg5#**

 **[Result: 1 - 0]**

 **[Winner: Jaune Arc]**

The master stared at his king, caught in the middle of his mass of pieces, skewered rather beautifully by the white bishops. Qrow rubbed the back of his head, a sheepish smile coming to his face."Can't say I'm too- hic- proud of this one. Nevertheless…."

He grasped Jaune's hand firmly. The dark-haired man now adorned a serious look. "Your journey starts here and now, Jaune Arc. My defeat to you is sort of my... _welcoming gift_ to you. Strong opponents will approach you constantly now. They will use whatever means necessary to get the upper hand. Prepare yourself, Jaune. Don't worry though, Beacon Academy is here to help you now. Study hard, and do your best, kid." And with that, the master grabbed his coat, slung it around his back, waved his his hand in farewell, and walked out of the room.

And then, Jaune heard the sound of hands clapping, from the person he least expected. He turned around and reeled back in surprise as Weiss Schnee stood in the center of the audience of students, clapping her hands politely, a slight grin on her face.

The next person to join in was a familiar blond bombshell, who let out a loud whistle, before joining in with Weiss."Well done, Jaune!" She gave him a huge grin, which Jaune couldn't help but return.

"A queen sacrifice! And a beautiful one too. Can't say I see that too often." Blake exclaimed, also clapping lightly in congratulation, with the students around her nodding in agreement. Jaune could only stare at the floor now, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

Pretty soon, everyone in the room erupted in cheers of congratulation, even the teachers joining in. Ruby stood next to her sister, clapping wildly, laughing cheerily in the midst of everyone.

With that sight in mind, the blond boy relished in the sound of congratulations being showered onto him. Never before had he felt such attention unto himself, and he hoped this moment would last forever. Alas, good things always come to an end.

After a short celebration of Juane's memorable victory, the rest of the students scoured off to finish their own initiations.

"That was something else Jaune! Never thought you'd pull a queen sacrifice out of your ass against my uncle!" Yang whistled, nudging the blond boy in question a little bit. Jaune recovered quickly, brushing off his suit.

"Yeah, I probably just got lucky."

" _A player with_ _skill is always lucky."_ Weiss recited from memory, giving Jaune a smirk, before bowing her head slightly in his direction. "I must say I'm sorry for treating you with such…. _impoliteness_ earlier."

The sharp change in attitude from the heiress weirded the hell out of Jaune, but he took it in strides, taking the opportunity to make friends with the pretty girl."Its ok, I didn't even notice!"

The Schnee heiress was having none of it however, placing her hands on her hips. "Well, it doesn't bode well with me. I thought of you as a witless dolt who understood nothing, yet after seeing your play, I found myself a little…inspired."

The blond boy kept his mouth shut, staring blankly at Weiss.

Blake caught something with her eye, and tugged at Jaune's suit."Hey, Ruby's initiation is starting soon. I think you'll want to see this."

His curiosity piqued, Jaune, followed by Weiss, Yang, and Blake, headed over to where table 3, where Ruby sat, waiting for her instructor to begin the test. He spotted Ren, and after a short greeting, and a small congratulation on Ren's part, the two stood together.

"So, is Ruby's test going to be the same as mine?" Jaune asked.

"Not quite…. the school creates tests based on your specialty. Each student is given something to test their own capacity at what they are good at. I was tested on opening theory, as the was my specialty." Ren said.

Opening theory, huh? He wondered what exactly that entailed. It sounded really scientific, and not fun at all. But nevertheless, he didn't know any better, so he gave the stoic man a nod. A crowd of students had suddenly assembled around them now. Jaune shifted in place."Wow, a lot of people are coming to watch, aren't they?"

Ren stared at him for a few second, before realization crossed his face. "You don't know Ruby's specialty do you?"

"No, what is it?"

"Ever heard of bullet chess?"

Jaune's eyes lit up at the mention of something he didn't know."Can't say I have. Care to explain?" Ren shot him a smile.

"Bullet chess is where each participant has a full minute to make all their moves. See that clock with the two buttons?" Ren pointed to a small clock-like device, with two separate times set on the screen, both at one minute.

"Ruby will move first, being white, and she will start the clock. As soon as she hits the clock, her opponent's time will start counting down from one minute. Then as soon as her opponent hits the clock, her time will start counting down, and the game continues until she or her opponent runs out of time or wins the game. Chess clocks are used in tournaments all the time, as it is the standard. Normally, people have a large amount of time to make their moves. something like one to two hours. In bullet chess, however, thinking is not an option, as there is no time! Makes it a lot of fun!"

Jaune gave a silent "oh", and waited in fascination for the instructor to arrive. Bullet chess sounded amazing to him, but he couldn't imagine himself having the skill to do that. Besides, bullets were for guns, not chess. Thinking of guns, he thought back to an action figure he had as a kid, which he remembered he broke on the first day he got it. He also remembered crying his eyes out. Ugh, that was a bad day...

"Jaune, what's wrong?"

Pulled out of his thoughts, Jaune hastily replied,"Nothing! Just thinkin' about stuff.…Pyrhha?"

The pretty redhead said a quick "hello" to Ren and leaned forward a bit, giving Jaune a cute smile."That was an excellent game you played, Jaune. I was impressed!"

He flushed in his spot, being at a loss for words."O-Oh! You know…I was just luck- Never mind about that. Um… It was all thanks to you though."

She straightened her back, staring into his eyes."Me?"

He gave a nervous laugh."Yeah, I would have never done what I did if you didn't tell me to listen to my gut! To be honest, I wasn't really thinking a whole lot. So I have to say, thank you." He gave, what he hoped was, a sincere smile. She turned away then, but he could swear he saw a tinge of red on her cheeks.

"No problem." Came the quiet reply.

Pretty soon, a large, burly man with a thick mustache walked over, baring a smile to all students present. He wore a double-breasted burgundy suit with gold piping and buttons, along with brown boots. His hands behind his back, he gave a hearty laugh to all of them.

"I see your reputation has given you quite an audience, Miss Rose. I'd expect nothing less from Taiyang's daughter." He slowly sat in his seat.

Jaune took a glance at the young girl, and boy did she look like a wreck. She was mumbling something to herself, and she seemed to be unable to sit still, and her face was colored white. It looked like the amount of students watching had got on her nerves. Yang, almost sensing her discomfort via a sixth sense, walked on over, whispered a few words into the fumbling girl's ears, and she almost instantly calmed down. The blond girl then walked on over to Jaune, with a slight grimace.

"Everything alright?" He asked politely. The girl waved her hand in dismissal. "Yeah, just Ruby being Ruby, ya know." Weiss and Blake then walked over to them, and joined them for viewing the game of the young prodigy. The heiress seemed to be thinking of something intensely, but Juane ignored it altogether.

"Ah, where are my manners? My name is Professor Peter Port, chess extraordinaire. It's a pleasure to meet you!" He gave another hearty laugh, and shook the petite girl's hand furiously. Ruby's eye twitched, so Jaune had to bite back a laugh.

"Anyways, let get this started. We both will have one minute, with a two second increment to make all of our moves. My only requirement is that you show me your proficiency at this time control. That mean making random moves won't impress me in the slightest, Miss Rose. Are you ready?"

Ren quickly whispered to Jaune,"Forgot to mention, but a two second increment means that with every move they make, they gain two seconds on the clock."

Nodding his head, Jaune wondered how a person was supposed to _not_ make random moves, considering you had to spend less than a full second on each move. But Ruby held no fear in her eyes, nodding once in approval, her hands on the chess clock.

"Alright, lets begin!"

With that Ruby, started the clock, and the game started.

 **[Ruby Rose vs Professor Port]**

 **1\. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ndf6 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. Bg5 e6 8. Bc4 Be7 9. O‑O…..**

After the first few moves, Jaune could barely keep up with their hands! Like snakes, the two player's hands whipped around the board, furiously making moves and then rapidly pressing the clock. He could hardly believe how fast they were going! Ruby's hand was nothing more than a blur, a streak of red controlling the white pieces rather elegantly. In her mad dash to make her moves, it was amazing how she didn't knock over any pieces, nor did she hesitate on any of her moves. He found his jaw dropping in a shock and awe.

"Woah…"He breathed out, causing a his few friends to snicker at him."You seem impressed." Yang said, a smirk on her face, which was quickly replaced with a genuine one, seeing his disbelief.

"It's…amazing! It's stupendous! It looks just like so much fun!" He let his hand cup his cheek dramatically."Oh, now I want to try bullet chess, too!"

His friends grinned widely, saying nothing, and returned to viewing the game.

Ruby and Professor Port had relatively the same amount of time left, being only ten or so seconds. The pieces on the board had just dwindled down to a a few pawns and kings, with Professor Port being a pawn up. He had a basic understanding of what to do near the end of a chess game; both sides would try to promote their pawns to queens so that they could win the game, effectively. It seemed like Ruby was struggling however, as Professor Port's extra pawn halted her own plans in the meantime. She was entirely defensive, and she held a look of complete focus. Although she was losing, she wasn't making it easy for Professor Port either, whose brows were furrowed in frustration. Their speed had not let up yet, and pretty soon, the clock buzzed for both of them.

 **[Result: 1/2 - 1/2]**

Jaune snapped out of his reverie, looking around to his friends in confusion. "Wait…what happened?"

"They settled on a draw, seeing as they both had insufficient time to win or lose the game." Blake explained.

Ruby gave a heavy sigh, got up and, brushed a few specks of dirt off her skirt.

"You have no reason to feel down on yourself, Miss impressed me with how much fight you had in you, despite being in trouble. Not many people can do that. Therefore, you have passed initiation. You played very well for a girl as young as yourself…."

Her silver eyes noticeably widened, before she gave the old man a cheery smile. "Thanks professor!" She shook his hand amicably.

"Besides, it's not like you had a chance of beating me!" He gave another hearty laugh, before sauntering off to another table. Ruby's eye twitched again, this time causing Jaune to burst out laughing.

She glared half-heartedly in his direction for a second, before giving her new group of friends a wide grin. They had done it; they had finally passed initiation, and had finally begun their journey as chess players.

So with a spring to her step, she joined the rest of her friends.

* * *

"….And last but not least, would the following individuals come up: Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrhha Nikos, and Lie Ren."

The group of students looked to one another with excitement, before confidently walking up to the stage, where Ozpin greeted each of them quietly and equally.

"You eight will collectively reside in Hall 1. Given your expertise in your speciality's, you will join Class A during the school year, where you will take classes for your skill level. I wish you all good luck, and a wonderful year ahead. I must now assign a captain and a vice captain to your hall, both of whom will guide the rest of you through out the school year."

A tense moment of silence passed by.

"Your captain shall be….Ruby Rose!"

At the sound of her name, she reeled back in surprise, silver eyes blinking rapidly. "Me?"

She was then suddenly bear-hugged by Yang."I'm so proud of you!"

"YANG! Please!" Ruby whined, trying to wrestle her overbearing sister off her. The antics of the two sisters caused Juane to snicker.

"Your vice-captain shall be…Jaune Arc!"

The group of friends now turned to the blond boy with wide grins, who looked stunned at Ozpin's words. He had never been picked for anything! The fact that he had been picked to be vice-captain amazed him. Oh gosh, how would he lead his friends? What if he failed them? He hadn't seen to many great examples of leadership throughout his childhood! He was hyperventilating, but soon found himself flat on his butt. He rubbed his back in pain.

"Oww…."

Yang picked him up from the ground."Don't leave my sister hanging just yet, Jaune!" She inched closer, a eerie smile on her face."Just know, I don't want any funny business between the two of you, got it?"

Jaune tilted his head slightly, giving a short laugh."Funny business? How can business be funny? I mean… eventually Ruby and I will eventually have to do _business_ right? And I doubt it's going to be fun…. so you don't need to worry about that!" He finished confidently, his hands rested on his hips. Yang was probably feeling pretty stupid now-

Ruby was the first to crack. The sounds of cheery laughter filled the space, even Blake being brought out of her usual stoic appearance. He let out a groan of frustration, before looking away, embarrassed.

The headmaster cleared his throat."Alright, students. You may now settle down in your dorm rooms. Classes begin at 8 am tomorrow, so I advise you get some sleep soon."

They had three dorms total in Hall 1, so the group collectively decided that the boys would get one room to themselves while the girls split up in the two remaining rooms.

Jaune and Ren's room had a magnificent view of the city of Vale, which the blond boy promised he would visit soon. He stared outside, taking in the azure glow of the city during the night. A few days ago, he would never have imagined experiencing so many new things, but now….

He splayed a hand on his chest. His heart wouldn't stop beating rapidly; he was too excited for the coming day.

"Jaune, we should probably head to sleep…." Ren yawned, fixing himself on his bed. Jaune pulled out the book Blake had given him, and drummed his fingers over it. "I think I'll read a a bit more of this."

"Alright, good night."

"Good night!"

Jaune thumbed past the first few pages, and flipped to page with the title,"Game 1". Shrugging his shoulders, he read the first few lines.

 _Game 1: von Scheve - Teichmann , Vacuo Olympiad 1907, Giuoco Piano_

 _The chief object of all opening strategy is to get the pieces out quickly - off the back rank and into active play…._

* * *

 **Hopefully I was able to make my writing less confusing with this one. Don't forget to review!**


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